


can't sleep [love]

by ShippingEverything



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anna in a Wheelchair, Anna is a lesbian, Deaf Character, Deaf Martha, F/F, Pre-Slash, disabled anna, more gay girls 2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 17:25:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12137457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingEverything/pseuds/ShippingEverything
Summary: Anna doesn't know why her new neighbor is moving in at 2am, but she's not going let that stop her from complaining





	can't sleep [love]

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on a Roll
> 
> title from Pentatonix's Can't Sleep Love
> 
> this is Small and not even really gay but i love it

It's 2:17 am, Anna has to wake up in three and a half hours, and she's wide awake. She stares blankly at her alarm clock, watching as the numbers blink in and out. She wants desperately to be asleep, but as soon as she settles and closes her eyes-

 _Thump_.

 _That_ happens. Her landlord had come by earlier and told her that he'd finally sold the apartment above Anna's and that they'd be moving in soon, but she didn't expect that "soon" meant "tonight, at the witching hour."

Another loud _slam_ pulls her out of her reverie. She groans at the ceiling as the thumping is replaced with the sound of furniture scraping against the floor.

"Why is this happening to me?" She asks the air, "Is it because I keep pretending to be sick so that I don't have to hang out with Otto?"

The only answer the universe offers is another heavy thud. Anna huffs and rolls out of bed, climbing into her chair. She grabs a sweatshirt to pull over her sleep shirt and shorts, then wheels herself out of her apartment and into the elevator. As she nears to the door directly above her apartment, the thumping get louder, and she wonders how anyone else is sleeping through this. Anna knocks on the door, and waits. And waits.

After a few minutes, she notices a doorbell beside the door. She has to push herself up to be able to reach it, but she clicks it, and then, when she hears nothing from it, clicks it again, falling back into her chair and completing her cycle with another knock. Nothing happens. Right as she’s gearing herself up to reach for the doorbell again, the door opens. Inside the doorway, is a wide-eyed, dark-skinned woman in jeans and a v-neck, her hair fanning around her head in a short afro. She’s gorgeous, and Anna suddenly feels incredibly self-conscious about her stained, swamping sleep shirt. "Uh, sorry to bother you, but-"

The woman holds up a hand. She reaches back inside and pulls out a notebook and pen. Anna furrows her brow but watches as the woman writes on it and turns it around.

 _ **I’m deaf**_ , the notebook says in smooth, flowing cursive. Anna thinks, _Oh, that makes a lot of sense_. Luckily, Anna knows how to sign from her friend, Ernst, and she can only hope that the dialect that Ernst has taught her is compatible with this woman’s.

" **Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed** ," Anna signs. " **I’m A-N-N-A, Anna, your downstairs neighbor**."

" **M-A-R-T-H-A, Martha** ," Martha signs, her smile tentative and pleasantly surprised. " **Nice to meet you**."

Anna smiles back, forgetting for a moment why she came up here. And then she sees the clock behind Martha and is roughly reminded that she has an eight AM class. " **I’m here because**.." Anna trails off dropping her hands. She doesn’t know how to say this nicely. " **I understand that you’re moving in, but it’s very late and you’re being a bit**... **loud**."

Martha’s eyes widen in shock, her mouth dropping open in a cute _o_. " **I hadn’t realized** , **I work during the afternoons, and I hadn’t considered that I might be making too much noise**."

Martha looks so regretful that Anna has to jump to reassure her. " **Really** , **it wasn’t really a problem** , **I just have an early class and** -"

Martha places a hand over Anna’s stilling them, then yanks her hand back, seemingly flustered by her own actions. " **It’s fine**. **I’m sorry** ," Martha pauses, thinking, " **How about you come over after your classes** , **and I’ll make you a meal to apologize**."

"I-" Anna says, choking on her words. Her face is flushed, her heart is beating out of her chest. " **A meal?** "

" **I'm sure it's a bit forward of me, but** ," Martha shrugs, sheepish. Her eyes tell of embarrassment but her hands are steady. " **I can’t bake, or I’d make you cookies, but the least I can offer in exchange for your sleep is spaghetti and meatballs**."

" **I’d like that a lot** ," Anna signs, still flushed, and then yawns. " **Let me give you my number**." Martha supplies a cellphone and Anna dutifully enters her number in, still tingling with nervous energy. Martha promises to text her the next day and Anna returns to her room, swinging herself out of her chair and into bed. She lays there, grinning at the now silent ceiling, unable to sleep for an entirely different reason.

**Author's Note:**

> coda: anna makes it to all her classes, but falls asleep at marthas kitchen table the next evening. martha places a blanket on her and goes about her in house business, and when anna wakes up and freaks out and apologizes a ton, martha just says "i guess we'll just have to do this again, then" and anna gets flustered as hell and they start dating
> 
> thank you so so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! comments, kudos, and bookmarks bring life into my husk of a body  
> [Main Tumblr (liveinlivingcolor)](http://www.liveinlivingcolor.tumblr.com) | [Writing Tumblr (nacreousglowclouds)](http://nacreousglowclouds.tumblr.com/) | [Personal Twitter (@squidias)](http://twitter.com/squidias)


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